Token dispenser



May 16, 1939- T. G BoGREss 2,158,608

TOKEN DISPENSER Filed Jan. 3, 1938 lNvENToR. 7770/7745 6. 50i/'6.55

Patented May 16, 1939 UNITED STATES PATNT OFFICE Application January 3,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to token dispensers of the type that may be manually operated by cashiers or the like, when it is necessary to make change and present to the customer one or more tokens or coins.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a token or coin dispenser that is inexpensive tov manufacture, simple in construction, durable and adjustable by the user so that the same may be maintained in working order over a long period of time without the necessity of attention of the manufacturer, distributor, or

skilled mechanics.

One of the important objects of this invention is the provision of a token dispenser which has a number of token or coin magazines, each of which has a slide associated therewith that is capable of ejecting or feeding from the dispenser, a predetermined number of tokens, all in accordance with the thickness of the slide, said tokens from all the magazines of the dispenser being fed into a chute that is common to all slides of the device.

A yet further aim of this invention is the provision of a token dispenser of the aforementioned character wherein is provided unique and specially formed operatingy mechanism which comprises a bell-crank lever, the arms of which are engageable by adjustable movement-limiting elements so that the perforations in the slides may be maintained in axial alignment with the magazine, said limiting elements being susceptible of manipulation by the user of the dispenser so as to maintain the parts thereof in perfect working order.

A large number of minor objects will appear during the course of the following specification, referring to the accompanying drawing wherein is illustrated one embodiment of the invention; in the drawing,

Figure 1 in a top plan view of a token dispenser made in accordance with the present invention, a part thereof being broken away to reveal normally concealed units.

Fig. 2 is a vertical central sectional view through the token dispenser taken on line II--II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary Vertical sectional View through a portion of the dispenser taken on line III-III of Fig. 2, and,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along line IV-IV of Fig. 2.

It is understood that tokens that may be handled by a dispenser embodying the concepts of this invention, may be of any form so long as the same are of uniform thickness and struck from sheet metal or the like.

Tokens E illustrated in the accompanying drawing are shown to be round or disc shaped, with a thickness of substantially 2%;4". These tokens 5l 6 may be stacked in tubular magazines 8, the upper ends of which are fiar-ed to provide a hopper portion l into which is fed the tokens as they are received by the cashier or operator of the dispenser.

Case I2 formed of sheet metal or analogous material, supports the magazines (i and there are a plurality of these magazines so that l, 2, 3, or 4 one mill tokens may be fed into chute Iii each time the operating mechanism is actuated. One of the magazines 3 has associated therewith a finger piece I8 that indicates the 5 mill token is fed therefrom when the finger piece is pressed. Manifestly, the number of magazines 3 may be increased to suit conditions and to produce. a dispenser of different physical characteristics than the one herewith illustrated.

A top IS forms a part of case i2 and openings through the top receive the lower ends of magazines 8. Each magazine has a perforated slide 2@ associated therewith and the thickness of this slide 2Q is varied in accordance with the number of tokens 6 to be fed into chute I4. This chute I4 is flared at its upper portion so that it lies below and in front of all magazines 8 where tokens may be dropped thereinto when slide 20 is at one end of its path of travel. When slide 20 is at the forward end of its path of travel its perforation 23 overlies chute I4 and the tokens carried forward thereby are dropped by gravity into chute I 4. The lower portion of chute I4 is projected exteriorly of case I2 and a tray-like end formed thereon so that tokens 6 will remain in the lower part of chute I4 to be collected by the customer.

Each slide 2@ is manually manipulated through the medium of novel mechanism such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This mechanism comprises a bellcrank lever 22 pivotally supported by a rod 24 that is carried by top I6. One arm 26 of lever 22 has a finger piece I8 thereon and the other arm 28 of lever 22 is joined to slide 20 by a link 30. Spring 32 yieldably maintains slide 20 at one end of its path of travel.

Slides 20 are supported for rectilinear reciprocation by the specially formed guide piece 33 riveted to top I5, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

Top I6 has a raised portion which presents an inclined wall 34 and a horizontal wall 36. It is at the juncture between these two walls 34 and 36, that lever 22 is pivotally supported. When lever 22 is in the normal position with slide 2D in axial alignment with the overlying magazine 8, arm 26 is substantially horizontal and parallel with wall 36. In this position, lever 22 and the associated parts should be so disposed as to insure that perforation 23 is in alignment with the overlying magazine 8 so that tokens 6 will always be within perforation 23 and resting upon a platform 38 which is formed by the same material that creates guides 33.

A bendable tongue is struck from Wall 36 immediately above arm 26 of lever 22, and this tongue 40 is pressed against arm 26 when the machine is first assembled so that perforation 23 is in alignment as aforesaid.

During use, spring 32 often times loses its force and therefore, the height to which arm 26 and its ringer piece I8 is raised, must be varied to accommodate wear, play, and spring variation. If slide 20 does not return to the proper position, adjustment of tongue 40 will overcome the difliculty. This tongue 48 becomes a stop that is set during assembly so that precision work is unnecessary as regards the parts forming the mechanism which operates slide 2U.

Inclined wall 34 carries an adjusting screw 42 which limits the movement of lever 22 by engaging arm 28-thus, the forward movement of slide 2D may be stopped at the proper point to permit dropping tokens 6 into chute I4.

A storage drawer 44 occupies the space within the case I6 below the operating mechanism that has just been described. This drawer may contain a desired number of tokens for introduction into magazines 8.

Fig. 3 illustrates the manner in which slides 2B are made of metal having different thicknesses so that the desired number of tokensare ejected,

It is obvious to one skilled in the art that a token dispenser embodying this invention may be made in various Ways so that the same might be included in a commercially practical device, and it is therefore desired to be limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A token dispenser of the character described comprising a sheet metal case having a top constituting a raised horizontal portion along one edge thereof and an inclined wall joining the raised portion with the remaining part of the top, said remaining part of the top being also horizontal and provided with a plurality of perforations therethrough; a vertical token magazine in communication with each perforation respectively; a chute in the case disposed between said perforations and the opposite edge of the top; a reciprocable slide having an opening therethrough underlying each perforation respectively to receive tokens from the respective magazines through the perforation in communication therewith when the slide is at one end of its path of travel and to deposit the token in the chute when the slide is at the other end of its path of travel; a spring for each slide to yieldably maintain the latter at said one end of its path of travel; a bell-crank lever for each slide respectively, pivotally mounted at its elbow within the case at `the zone of juncture between the raised horizontal portion and said inclined wall; a link interconnecting the free end of one arm of each bell-crank lever with its respective slide, the free end of the other arm of each lever being projected exteriorly of the case and having a finger-piece thereon, said rst mentioned arm of each bell-crank lever being adjacent to the inclined wall when the same is moved to position the opening ,of its associated slide over the said chute, said second mentioned arm being adjacent to the raised horizontal portion of the case when the opening of its associated slide is in register with the overlying perforation in the top; a set screw carried by the inclined wall for engagement with the rst mentioned arm of the bell-crank lever to form an adjustable stop for the said lever and the slide; and a bendable tongue struck from the raised horizontal portion of the top, said tongue being engageable with the second mentioned arm of the bellcrank lever to form a stop, said set screw being a stop to limit the movement of the slide in one direction, said tongue being a stop to limit the movement of the slide in the other direction.

THOMAS GUS BOGRESS. 

